Back issue for magazine - Blueprint 273

As the economy nose-dives and amid dire predictions for a credit crunch Christmas, December’s issue focuses on architecture of new shopping centres. Austin Williams visits the recently completed retail quarter, Cabot Square in Bristol, and Peter Kelly finds that Europe’s largest inner-city mall, Westfield London, shows the dangers of regeneration through retail. Staying with the retail theme, Vicky Richardson reports on David Adjaye’s new £3m retail quarter Trinity Walk, documented by Faye Chamberlain.

Further from home, Blueprint takes a fresh approach to the rich variety at this year’s Venice Biennale, with Aaron Betsky’s broad theme for 2008, Out There. Vicky Richardson meets India’s leading architect, Balkrishna Doshi, and reveals the philosophy of this inspirational man and his practice. Back in London, Gian Luca Amadei reports on this year’s London Design Festival, from Tomoko Azumi’s Transport Lamp to Nigel Coates’ Scubism. In Ireland, Emily Crichton-Miller reports on a new generation of high-quality homes in the countryside.